Just catching up on the news, but apparently Rick Loomis died a few weeks ago at the age of 72:
The U.S. Army veteran and Scottsdale, Arizona, resident created the wargame Nuclear Destruction, was a founding member and past president of the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and founder of Flying Buffalo, the publisher of Ken St. Andre’s Tunnels & Trolls roleplaying game.
As a kid, I knew of Flying Buffalo mainly for their D&D supplements (city source books) and of course Grimtooth's Tricks and Traps.
I found this interesting:
Appelcline noted that with the closure of original Dungeons & Dragons publisher TSR in 1997, Flying Buffalo became the world’s oldest publisher of pen-and-paper RPGs.
Maybe not worth an entire topic of discussion, but Rick indirectly influenced my gaming life and I figured I'd share for anyone else that didn't know. RIP
“Down the road there will also be new products for T&T (Tunnels & Trolls), MSPE, Nuclear War, and Catalyst books like new Traps and Citybooks. They may not come as quickly as we’d like right now, as there is a lot to do in regards to taking care of Rick’s estate and Flying Buffalo. But rest assured, we are soldiering onward. That’s what Rick wanted us to do – and we plan to do just that. We have numerous projects in various stages of completion and we will find a way to bring those forward.”
I remember one glorious week of summer camp (1982, I believe...my last year as a scout) where I and two other older scouts played Tunnels and Trolls all week long. We were old enough that there were no Merit Badges to work on, so we spent the week doing T&T as well as building scoutcraft projects (including building a giant loom to make hammocks and lounge chairs.)
Never played it again after that, but it’s a very fond memory.
“We can never allow Murania to become desecrated by the presence of surface people. Our lives are serene, our minds are superior, our accomplishments greater. Gene Autry must be captured!!!” - Queen Tika, The Phantom Empire
Rick was an institution with a permanent booth at Origins Game Fair. I had a few good conversations with him about Nuclear War, T&T and their app.
"A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on." -Terry Pratchett, The Truth "The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to those who think they've found it." -Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment
Bundle of Holding is (and has been) offering a Flying Buffalo PDF bundle and they're giving 10% of the proceeds to the Loomis family to help pay whatever medical bills remain.
